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This zucchini brownies recipe comes out ultra moist with deep chocolaty flavor! Bookmark this one for a deliciously simple treat.
Why we love this recipe
What do you make when you’ve made all the zucchini bread and zucchini muffins? Zucchini brownies, of course! Stop what you’re doing and gather the ingredients for this recipe that will have your friends and family running for another piece.
The brownies come out ultra moist and gooey, with a deep, rich chocolaty flavor. They’re simple to make and you won’t believe the amazing flavor and texture! As two cookbook authors who have made a lot of zucchini recipes over the years, this is still one of our favorites!
Ingredients in this zucchini brownies recipe
The secret to rich and moist brownies? Zucchini! Turns out, adding shredded zucchini to brownies makes for an incredibly moist, gooey texture (which is what we prefer in a good brownie). It also lets you get away with not using eggs, which makes this zucchini brownies recipe accidentally vegan! Here are the ingredients in this recipe:
- Granulated sugar
- Neutral oil
- Zucchini
- Vanilla extract
- Cocoa powder
- Dutch process cocoa powder
- Cornstarch
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Kosher salt
- Chocolate chips
The flavor key: Dutch process cocoa powder
This zucchini brownies recipe uses a combination of two types of cocoa powder to achieve the deep, dark chocolaty flavor. The key? Dutch process (dark) cocoa powder, a special type of cocoa powder is treated with an alkali to make it pH neutral. This gives it a darker color and milder flavor. It makes the flavor ultra chocolaty, with deep rich notes instead of the lighter fruity notes that you’ll get with regular cocoa powder.
- Dutch process cocoa powder is available in the baking aisle at your local grocery. Or you can buy it online: our favorite brands are Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder or Ghiradelli Dutch Process Cocoa Powder.
- For more recipes using Dutch process cocoa powder, try Chocolate Zucchini Bread, Chocolate Zucchini Muffins, Chocolate Muffins, Chocolate Banana Muffins, No Bake Cookies, Mug Cake, and this fun Healthy Chocolate Pudding.
Tips for zucchini brownies
Zucchini brownies are as straightforward as a standard brownies recipe! There are just a few things to note for success:
- Use a metal pan for baking. This makes for the most consistent bake and a better rise than a glass pan.
- Finely grate the zucchini. This allows this green vegetable to meld seamlessly into the texture of the brownies.
- Do not drain the zucchini! This recipe is optimized for undrained zucchini, using the moisture in this vegetable (which is 94% water!).
Some notes on cooling and cutting
It’s important for recipes like brownies, muffins and quick breads to cool completely. This sets the texture and allows them to hold together better. The flavor is also generally better at room temperature. These zucchini brownies don’t hold together if they are very warm, so make sure to let them cool completely.
For best results, cool for 1 hour in the pan, then remove the brownies from the pan with the foil and allow to cool on a baking rack for another 1 hour until cooled.
To get clean slices, cut through the brownies once they are cooled and clean off the knife after each cut.
Brownie variations
If you love non-standard brownies, you’ll love these zucchini brownies! A few other variations you’ll love:
- Try Sweet Potato Brownies with roasted sweet potato puree
- Go for Gluten Free Brownies
- Opt for Raw Brownies, made from walnuts and Medjool dates!
Storing leftovers
These zucchini brownies hold up well over time! Store them refrigerated for up to 1 week. You can also store at room temperature, but they are so gooey that refrigeration is best: plus, they’ll last longer.
More zucchini bread and muffins
There are so many ways to mix up zucchini bread! This chocolate zucchini bread is our absolute favorite, but a close second is lemon zucchini bread: it’s zingy and bright! It’s the exact opposite of this bread but nearly as satisfying. Here are a few more zucchini recipes:
- Go for classic Zucchini Bread or Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Make bright and zesty Lemon Zucchini Bread, topped with a lemon glaze, or Snickerdoodle Zucchini Bread with cinnamon
- Go for rich and chocolaty Chocolate Zucchini Bread or Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- Mix up Best Zucchini Muffins or Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins
Dietary notes
This zucchini brownies recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based and dairy-free.
Frequently asked questions
No, you cannot taste the zucchini in these brownies. It adds moisture and a fudgy texture without affecting the chocolatey flavor.
While zucchini is the most common vegetable used in brownies, you can experiment with other options like sweet potatoes: just make sure to use a recipe optimized for that vegetable because the moisture content is different. Go to Sweet Potato Brownies.
This zucchini brownies recipe does not contain egg, so it is naturally vegan!
Absolutely! Chopped nuts, caramel chips, or white chocolate chips would be delicious additions to these brownies. Just fold them in gently at the end of mixing.
Zucchini Brownies
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 16 1x
Description
This zucchini brownies recipe comes out ultra moist with deep chocolaty flavor! Bookmark this one for a deliciously simple treat.
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup neutral oil (grapeseed, organic canola or vegetable oil, or other neutral oil of choice)
- 2 cups finely shredded zucchini (packed not drained)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup cocoa powder (standard)
- 2 tablespoon Dutch process (dark chocolate) cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9 x 9″ pan with a piece of aluminum foil.
- Stir together the sugar and oil with a spatula. Then stir in the zucchini, vanilla, cocoa powder, Dutch process cocoa powder, cornstarch, flour, baking soda, and salt. Fold in ¾ of the chocolate chips. Allow the batter to stand for 5 minutes to allow it to thicken.
- Pour the batter into the pan and top with the remaining ¼ cup chocolate chips. Bake 30 to 35 minutes until a tester comes out with a few clinging crumbs. Cool for 1 hour in the pan, then remove the brownies from the pan with the foil and allow to cool on a baking rack for another 1 to 2 hours until cooled. Slice into 16 pieces and serve (wash the knife after each slice to make for clean cuts). Leftovers store up to 1 week refrigerated.
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Baked
- Diet: Vegan
These brownies are spectacular and come together so quickly! Super fudgy and decadent without feeling overly heavy. A great recipe to make with the summer zucchini stash.
With 3 zucchinis, I was able to make one batch of these brownies and one batch of the zucchini snickerdoodle bread.
Love these! I made them for a party I hosted and everyone loved them. I did have to add extra baking time to get them done in the middle. Now I’m the brownie maker for events. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
We made these brownies and doubled the recipe. We cooked it in a foil lined metal pan (9×13). At 35 minutes the brownies were not cooked on the outside the inside came out clean and the sides were watery. At 45 minutes, the same, at an hour the same. At this point we gave up. Any pointers on how to manage doubling the recipe without making 2 seperate recipes?
I made these with gluten free flour and they were FABULOUS! I just noticed that I was supposed to add 2 T of dark chocolate cocoa powder. I didn’t see that when I made the recipe and it was very chocolately without it. One change I would make is to line the pan with parchment paper rather than aluminum foil. The brownies stuck to the foil. Not wanting to waste any of the goodness, I scraped the stuck part off with a spoon. Thank you.
These are deliciously fudgy! I’m already making them for a second time. Thank you!
These are really good. When I started mixing, I was sure there wasn’t enough liquid, and then BOOM there it was.
another great option for a garden full of zucchini, thank you!